Celebrating the Food Encyclopedia

July is, among other things, National Culinary Arts Month ! So, I thought we might look at some culinary arts reference books in the History of Food and Drink Collection–namely, some encyclopedias. They are from the more modern parts of the collection in terms of publication dates, but they represent hundreds of years of culinary arts history. So, it all works out in the end, right? 🙂

First up, The Encyclopedia of American Food & Drink from 1999.

The Encyclopedia of American Food & Drink, 1999, front cover

The Encyclopedia of American Food & Drink, pg 1

The Encyclopedia of American Food & Drink, pg 160

The Encyclopedia of American Food & Drink, pg 260

The Encyclopedia of American Food & Drink, pg 324

Next, , 2003.

Food and Culture, 2003, Volume 1, Front cover

Food and Culture, Volume 1, pg 290

Food and Culture, Volume 1, pg 601

Food and Culture, Volume 2, pg 212

Food and Culture, Volume 2, pg 546

Food and Culture, Volume 3, pg 254

Food and Culture, Volume 3, Color images

And last, but certainly not least, The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America, 2013. (We also have the 2004 edition of this awesome set, which was issued in 2 volumes. It’s now up to 3!)

The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America, 2013, front cover

The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America, v.1, pg 444

The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America, v.2, pg 214

The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America, v.2, pg 740

The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America, v.3, pg 266

The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America, v.3, pg 517

As you might notice, none of these volumes cover topics in quite the same way. The Encyclopedia of American Food & Drink includes hundreds of recipes scattered among its pages. takes a broad, global look at food and its connection to general culture. And The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America focuses on food/drink items, technology, history, advertising, and more. These approaches are a good thing that reflect the multiple approaches many scholars take to doing research. Some are more comprehensive that others, but they all offer different perspectives on the foods and food cultures that play such important roles in our lives.

July is also National Baked Bean Month, National Bison Month, National Grilling Month, National Hot Dog Month, National Ice Cream Month, National July Belongs to Blueberries Month, and National Picnic Month. July 18 is also National Cavier Day. I promise, I don’t make these things up! There are SOOOO many fun food holidays to know about!